College Visit Guides

Fly-in guide · 2 days, 2 campuses

Marquette and UW-Milwaukee in 2 Days: A Milwaukee College Trip

A parent-first plan for seeing Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in two days: how each visit works, where to park, three hotels from budget to upscale, drive times, the lakefront museums for siblings and seasonal weather, every fact sourced and checked Oct 28, 2026.

Marquette's campus on a summer evening, with a modern glass-and-stone building on the left, the tall twin Gothic spires of a stone church rising behind green trees in the center and a red-brick building on the right, above a quiet street
Marquette University campus (Aug 2015). Photo: Corey Coyle · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped

Last checked Oct 28, 2026. Every fact comes from the pages listed in Sources at the bottom. Some hotel and tour links are affiliate links (disclosure).

The short version

Trip at a glance

Schools
Marquette University (Milwaukee, WI) · University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Milwaukee, WI)
Days
2 days: Marquette and its Haggerty Museum of Art on day 1, UW-Milwaukee on day 2. Arrive the evening before.
Fly into
Milwaukee Mitchell International (MKE), about 14 minutes from the DoubleTree downtown with no traffic. Marquette notes that Milwaukee is a 90-minute drive north of Chicago.
Best base
DoubleTree by Hilton Milwaukee Downtown, about an 11-minute walk from Marquette and 12 minutes by car from UWM's Welcome Center.
Car or transit
Day 1 works on foot from downtown. For day 2, UWM is about 4 miles north, so use a rental car, rideshare or taxi; UWM has no free parking.
Registration
Both schools take visit sign-ups online. Marquette's daily visit runs at least 1 hour 45 minutes, and UWM's visit about 2 hours.

1. Who this guide is for

This plan is for parents with a high schooler, and maybe younger siblings, who want to compare two very different Milwaukee schools in one trip: Marquette University, next to downtown, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, about 4.6 miles to the north.

Marquette is about 4.6 miles from UWM by car, about 11 minutes with no traffic, and both are close to the lakefront: Marquette says the lakefront and its art museum are a short walk from campus, and UWM says its campus is 5 minutes from Lake Michigan.

Why this order

  • Day 1: Marquette's Daily Campus Visit pairs a student-led tour with an admissions overview; plan on at least 1 hour 45 minutes.
  • Day 2: UWM's visit is a 30-minute admissions presentation and a 90-minute walking tour led by campus ambassadors that includes a residence hall and a talk with an admissions counselor.
  • Marquette's free Haggerty Museum of Art is on campus, and the Milwaukee Art Museum and Discovery World sit side by side on the lakefront.
Plan ahead: parking at both campuses
  • Marquette: admissions visitors get limited free first-come spots in Lot D on N. 13th St. between Wisconsin Avenue and Wells Street. When those fill, park in the Wells Street or 16th Street structure and Admissions gives you a voucher at check-in.
  • UWM: there is no free parking on campus, and parking is enforced 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with no grace period.
Tour availability varies by season.
  • Marquette holds Discovery Days, weekend open houses for first-time visitors and their families, in the fall.
  • UWM's Welcome Center is open Monday through Friday and select Saturdays, and closed Sundays.

2. The suggested 2-day plan

  • Drive and walk times are no-traffic estimates from OpenStreetMap routing, using addresses geocoded with OpenStreetMap Nominatim. Leave extra time at rush hour.

Arrival evening: fly into Milwaukee Mitchell and check in downtown

  1. Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE) → DoubleTree by Hilton Milwaukee Downtown (611 W. Wisconsin Ave.)

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~14 min, 7.2 mi (no-traffic estimate)
    Driving and walking
    Rideshare, taxi or rental car
  • If you'd rather skip a car on day 1, you can walk to Marquette from the DoubleTree and pick up wheels for day 2.

Day 1: Marquette University and the Haggerty Museum of Art

  1. DoubleTree downtown → Marquette University (1250 W. Wisconsin Ave.)

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~2 min, 0.5 mi (no-traffic estimate)
    Driving and walking
    ~11 min walk, 0.5 mi

  2. Marquette → Haggerty Museum of Art (1234 W. Tory Hill St.)

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~2 min, 0.4 mi (no-traffic estimate)
    Driving and walking
    ~4 min walk, 0.2 mi
  • Book a Daily Campus Visit and plan on at least 1 hour 45 minutes for the tour and admissions overview. Academic department visits are booked separately, so don't let one overlap your tour.
  • Grab lunch at the Alumni Memorial Union, where Marquette Place on the second floor has Einstein Bros. Bagels, Erbert and Gerbert's, Grill 155 and La Taqueria.
  • Walk past St. Joan of Arc Chapel on the Central Mall, then visit the Haggerty, which is free and open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Day 2: UW-Milwaukee, then the lakefront and home

  1. DoubleTree downtown → UWM Welcome Center (2100 E. Kenwood Blvd.)

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~12 min, 4.0 mi (no-traffic estimate)
    Driving and walking
    Rideshare, taxi or rental car

  2. UWM → Milwaukee Art Museum (700 N. Art Museum Dr.)

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~9 min, 3.0 mi (no-traffic estimate)
    Driving and walking
    Rideshare, taxi or rental car

  3. Marquette area → Milwaukee Mitchell Airport (MKE)

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~15 min, 7.5 mi (no-traffic estimate)
    Driving and walking
    Rideshare, taxi or rental car
  • UWM campus tours run about 2 hours. Academic information sessions are booked separately and can be added on the same day as a tour.
  • After the tour, the UWM Student Union at 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd., about a 7-minute walk from the Welcome Center, has an Atrium Food Court on the campus level. Dining there is cashless.
  • The Milwaukee Art Museum and Discovery World are about a 5-minute walk apart on the lakefront; check their days, since both are closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

3. Campus by campus

Marquette's campus on a summer evening, with a modern glass-and-stone building on the left, the tall twin Gothic spires of a stone church rising behind green trees in the center and a red-brick building on the right, above a quiet street
Marquette University campus (Aug 2015). Photo: Corey Coyle · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped

Campus

Marquette University (Milwaukee, WI)

Where visits start
  • Daily Campus Visits feature a student-led tour and a presentation from the admissions team; plan to be on campus at least 1 hour 45 minutes. Use the sign-up calendar to see open dates and times.
  • First-time visitors can also attend a fall Discovery Day, and if no daily visit fits your date, Marquette has an alternate visit request form. Parents registering a student can call (414) 288-7302.
  • Marquette recommends carrying its official campus map, since map apps don't always keep up with campus changes.
Visitor parking
  • Admissions visitors get limited free, first-come spots in Lot D on N. 13th St. between Wisconsin Avenue and Wells Street.
  • When Lot D is full, park free with an Admissions voucher in the Wells Street Parking Structure (W. Wells St. between 12th and 13th, No. 67 on the campus map) or the 16th Street Parking Structure (No. 55). Sixteenth Street is one-way northbound, so turn onto it from Wisconsin Avenue or Clybourn Street. Display your entry ticket on the driver's-side dashboard.
  • Questions go to Parking Services: (414) 288-6911.
Getting there
  • Marquette is about an 11-minute walk from the DoubleTree downtown and about 15 minutes by car from Milwaukee Mitchell Airport with no traffic.
What to know
  • The Marquette photo in this guide shows campus on a summer evening. St. Joan of Arc Chapel, a small Gothic-style stone chapel, sits on the Central Mall, and the Haggerty Museum of Art is open to the public.
Contact
Marquette University, 1250 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53233; (800) 222-6544. Parents registering a student for a visit can call Admissions at (414) 288-7302.

Last checked Oct 28, 2026. Tour and admissions details change often, so confirm them on the school's official visit page before you go.

Official pages: Marquette: Visit Marquette · Marquette: Visitor Parking · Marquette: Milwaukee Hotels

A long red-brick Gothic-style hall with a crenellated tower and gray slate gables at UW-Milwaukee, seen across a green lawn with picnic tables and tall bare trees on an overcast spring day
Downer Quad, UW-Milwaukee (Apr 2009). Photo: Freekee · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped

Campus

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Milwaukee, WI)

Where visits start
  • The visit is a 30-minute admissions presentation and a 90-minute walking tour led by campus ambassadors, with a stop at a residence hall and a talk with an admissions counselor; all campus tours run 2 hours.
  • Spanish and ASL interpreters are available on request, best booked at least 7 days ahead, and UWM also runs tours in Spanish. For help scheduling, call the UWM Welcome Center at 414-229-4397.
  • The Welcome Center, 2100 E. Kenwood Blvd., has self-guided tour packets and is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and select Saturdays 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Visitor parking
  • There's no free parking on campus. In the Lubar, NWQ, Pavilion/Klotsche and Student Union garages you pull a ticket and pay before leaving; other lots require payment on arrival by license plate through ParkMobile or Passport.
  • UWM's Parking Finder shows lots with open visitor spaces. Questions go to uwmpark@uwm.edu or 414-229-4000.
Getting there
  • UWM is about 12 minutes by car from the DoubleTree downtown and about 11 minutes from Marquette with no traffic; UWM says campus is 10 minutes from downtown.
What to know
  • The UWM photo in this guide shows the brick Gothic-style buildings of Downer Quad. The Student Union has the Union Art Gallery and the Union Cinema.
Contact
UWM Welcome Center, 2100 E. Kenwood Blvd., Milwaukee, WI; 414-229-2222.

Last checked Oct 28, 2026. Tour and admissions details change often, so confirm them on the school's official visit page before you go.

Official pages: UWM: Visit · UWM: Campus Tours in Spanish · UWM: Preview Days · UWM: Visitor Parking

4. Where to stay: two nights downtown, a short walk from Marquette

Price tiers (Budget, Mid-range, Upscale) follow each hotel's star class on Expedia. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.

Hotel · Our pickUpscale

DoubleTree by Hilton Milwaukee Downtown

611 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53203

Why here

  • It's about an 11-minute walk to Marquette, 12 minutes by car to UWM's Welcome Center and 14 minutes from the airport, and Marquette lists it on its own page of hotels with Marquette discounts.
  • Expedia lists this hotel as a 4-star property, so we place it in the Upscale tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.

Good to know

  • Confirm parking and amenities on the Expedia listing before you book.

Check rates on Expedia →

Expedia link is an affiliate link

Hotel · AlternateMid-range

Ramada by Wyndham Milwaukee

2301 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53233

Why here

  • Expedia lists this hotel as a 3.5-star property, so we place it in the Mid-range tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
  • It's on the west side of Marquette, about an 18-minute walk or 3-minute drive to campus, and about 13 minutes by car from UWM.

Good to know

  • Expedia lists free continental breakfast and a free area shuttle. Confirm parking and amenities on the Expedia listing before you book.

Check rates on Expedia →

Expedia link is an affiliate link

Hotel · AlternateBudget

Holiday Inn Express Milwaukee Downtown by IHG

525 N. Jefferson St., Milwaukee, WI 53202

Why here

  • Expedia lists this hotel as a 2.5-star property, so we place it in the Budget tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
  • It's the closest of the three to UWM, about 10 minutes by car, and about a 12-minute walk to the Milwaukee Art Museum; Marquette is about 4 minutes by car.

Good to know

  • Expedia lists free continental breakfast. Confirm parking and amenities on the Expedia listing before you book.

Check rates on Expedia →

Expedia link is an affiliate link

Two nights downtown put Marquette within walking distance for day 1 and UWM about 12 minutes away by car for day 2. Check out on day 2 and head to the airport, about 15 minutes from Marquette, after the lakefront.

5. Meals between tours

Hours change, so check before you go.

On campus at Marquette

Marquette's Alumni Memorial Union has the campus food spots; menus and hours are posted by Marquette Dining. Check current hours before you go.

Eat

Marquette Place

Alumni Memorial Union, 2nd floor

Einstein Bros. Bagels, Erbert and Gerbert's, Grill 155, La Taqueria and Simply To Go, per Marquette.

Details →

Eat

The Brew @ AMU

Alumni Memorial Union, 1st floor

On the union's first floor, per Marquette.

Details →

On campus at UWM

The UWM Student Union, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd., has the main food court; dining is cashless, so bring a card or digital wallet.

Eat

Atrium Food Court

UWM Student Union, campus level

Options include City Subs, Pacific Wraps, Pizza Presto and Stir Fry; City Subs is open weekdays only.

Details →

Eat

Gasthaus

UWM Student Union, lower level

A restaurant and bar in the Union's basement, per UWM.

Details →

6. Things for siblings along the route

With siblings

Haggerty Museum of Art

1234 W. Tory Hill St., Milwaukee, WI 53233

Free and open to the public Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed Sundays, with limited free parking in Lot J at 601 N. 11th St.

Official page →

With siblings

Milwaukee Art Museum

700 N. Art Museum Dr., Milwaukee, WI

On the lakefront, about 4 minutes by car from the DoubleTree. Open Wednesday through Sunday and closed Mondays and Tuesdays; its Art Studio is open on weekends.

Official page →

With siblings

Discovery World

500 N. Harbor Dr., Milwaukee, WI 53202

On the lakefront between the art museum and the Summerfest grounds, about a 5-minute walk from the museum and open Wednesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Kids must be with a chaperone 16 or older.

Official page →

With siblings

A Golden Eagles or Panthers game

Milwaukee, WI

Check the Marquette and UWM athletics calendars for a home game on your dates.

Official page →

7. Practical tips

Driving and parking

  • Marquette admissions visitors park free in Lot D or, with a voucher, in a campus structure; UWM has no free parking and enforces it around the clock.
  • Downtown to UWM is about 4 miles and 12 minutes, and UWM to Marquette about 4.6 miles and 11 minutes, with no traffic.

Flying in and out

  • Milwaukee Mitchell (MKE) is about 14 minutes from the DoubleTree and about 15 minutes from Marquette with no traffic.
  • Marquette notes that Milwaukee is a 90-minute drive north of Chicago, if you're combining this with a Chicago trip.

Weather by season (1991–2020 NOAA normals: Milwaukee Mitchell Airport)

  • Spring: April averages about 55°F highs and 38°F lows, with about 3.9 inches of rain.
  • Summer: July averages about 82°F/65°F, with about 3.4 inches of rain.
  • Fall: October averages about 61°F/45°F, with about 2.8 inches of rain.
  • Winter: January averages about 31°F/17°F, with about 15 inches of snow, so pack for cold on the walking tours.

Parent checklist

  • Register for a Marquette Daily Campus Visit for day 1 and a UWM visit for day 2.
  • If you're driving to Marquette, aim for Lot D on N. 13th St. and ask Admissions for a parking voucher if you end up in a structure.
  • Plan to pay for parking at UWM, or take a rideshare from downtown.
  • Book two nights downtown and check Marquette's hotel page for visitor discounts.
  • After each visit, take five minutes to jot down what stood out to your student.

8. Student-athlete recruiting visits

For families whose student hopes to play a college sport. Rules below are the NCAA's; each school's links were checked Oct 26, 2026.

Coaches arrange the recruiting part of a visit, not the admissions office. The tour sign-ups in this guide are for the regular family visit. An official (school-paid) visit is offered by the school, and contact with coaches follows NCAA rules that vary by division, sport and grade level.

Start with your sport's questionnaire, then email the coaches. The NCAA suggests emailing coaches with your achievements, highlight videos and interest in their program, including your name, position, NCAA ID and graduation year.

2 Division I

NCAA basics for parents

  • Unofficial visit: any campus visit you or your family pay for. You can take as many as you like; in Divisions I and II each one has to come after the first permissible date for your sport.
  • Official visit: a visit paid for by the school. Each school can offer your student only one. Before a Division I official visit, your student must be registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center, be on the school's institutional request list, and the school must have their high school transcripts.
  • Division I (Marquette University and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee): on an official visit the school can pay for travel for the student and up to two family members, lodging, up to three meals a day for the student and up to four family members, and up to $60 a person in entertainment, including five home-game tickets. On an unofficial visit there are no free meals, but the school can give up to three home-game tickets. Division I uses recruiting calendars with contact, evaluation, quiet and dead periods; in a dead period, no in-person contact and no visits.
  • Rules change. Confirm with the coach, or check the NCAA's recruiting page and recruiting calendars, before you plan dates.

Planning around the season

  • Check each school's athletics schedule (linked above) before you pick dates, so a coach meeting doesn't land on a road trip or game day for your sport.
  • Our recommendation, not a school rule: ask the coach whether they can line up an admissions session or tour around your meeting. If not, book the regular family tour yourself through the official sign-up links in this guide, and leave time between the two.

Student-athlete sources

All checked Oct 26, 2026.

  1. NCAA, 2026-27 Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete (pp. 3, 21–25)
  2. NCAA.org: NCAA Recruiting
  3. NCAA: Division I and II Recruiting Calendars and Guides
  4. NCAA Directory: Marquette University
  5. Marquette University Athletics (official site)
  6. Marquette University Athletics: Compliance
  7. Marquette University Athletics: Staff Directory
  8. Marquette University Athletics: schedule of events
  9. NCAA Directory: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
  10. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Athletics (official site)
  11. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Athletics: Compliance
  12. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Athletics: Staff Directory
  13. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Athletics: schedule of events

Trip planner

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Sources

All checked Oct 28, 2026. Tour schedules change constantly, so always confirm on each school's official sign-up page. Photo credits are under each photo and on our About page.

  1. Marquette University: Visit Marquette
  2. Marquette University Admissions: Daily Campus Visits (official sign-up)
  3. Marquette University: Visitor Parking
  4. Marquette University: Milwaukee Hotels
  5. Marquette University: Undergraduate Admissions
  6. Marquette University Alumni Memorial Union: Dining
  7. UW-Milwaukee Undergraduate Admission: Visit
  8. UW-Milwaukee: Undergraduate Visit Experience (official sign-up)
  9. UW-Milwaukee: Campus Tours in Spanish (official sign-up)
  10. UW-Milwaukee Transportation Services: Visitor & Overnight Parking
  11. UW-Milwaukee Dining: Options
  12. UW-Milwaukee Student Union
  13. OSRM routing (OpenStreetMap), driving profile
  14. OSRM routing (OpenStreetMap), foot profile
  15. OpenStreetMap Nominatim geocoder
  16. NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Monthly Normals, Milwaukee Mitchell Airport, WI (USW00014839)
  17. Expedia listing: DoubleTree by Hilton Milwaukee Downtown (star class and address, checked 2026-10-28) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Milwaukee-Hotels-DoubleTree-By-Hilton-Milwaukee-Downtown.h19146.Hotel-Information)
  18. Expedia listing: Ramada by Wyndham Milwaukee (star class, address and amenities, checked 2026-10-28) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Milwaukee-Hotels-Ramada-By-Wyndham-Milwaukee.h117077.Hotel-Information)
  19. Expedia listing: Holiday Inn Express Milwaukee Downtown by IHG (star class and amenities, checked 2026-10-28) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Milwaukee-Hotels-Holiday-Inn-Express-Milwaukee-Downtown.h57132464.Hotel-Information)
  20. Haggerty Museum of Art: Hours
  21. Haggerty Museum of Art: Directions & Parking
  22. Milwaukee Art Museum: Visit
  23. Discovery World: Visit
  24. Marquette Golden Eagles Athletics: Calendar
  25. Milwaukee Panthers Athletics: Calendar